The X-Men franchise is often known for delivering the best superhero movies of all time, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And a vast portion of the franchise’s popularity comes from Hugh Jackman’s highly appreciated role as Wolverine. Making his debut in the 2000 live-action adaptation of the Marvel Comics, the actor dedicated nearly two decades of his life to the franchise.
Finally ending his solo journey as Wolverine, with his 2017 movie, Logan, Hugh Jackman brought tears to the eyes of his audiences. Nonetheless, presenting a heartwarming improvised scene in the movie, along with Patrick Stewart, Jackman turned Logan into one of the best comic book movies ever made.
Hugh Jackman And Patrick Stewart’s Improvisation In Logan
Diving well into the future with the story of Logan, director James Mangold had the opportunity to tell a surprisingly intimate and emotional story, which can almost be termed a masterpiece. Serving a few of the very best scenes, involving Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), Logan (Hugh Jackman), and Laura (Dafne Keen), Mangold delivered cinematic splendor and a perfect farewell for Wolverine.
However, surprisingly when fans were given the moment to witness the happy family, a major portion of it came through improvisation between the actors. Reliving the memory of the trio joining a stranger’s family for dinner on their farm, Patrick Stewart mentioned – the scene was actually improvised. Sitting for an interview with The Independent, the actor mentioned, “there were occasions in one scene where [director] James Mangold said, ‘Just improvise’.”
“It’s the scene where the family is talking about wanting to have a vacation and the kid says, ‘I’m ready to drop out of school,’ and Logan says something like, ‘Well, you know, be careful what you say, because [Xavier] used to run a school.’”
Recalling what went on behind the scenes, Stewart shared, “James said, ‘When you get to that moment, why don’t you talk about your history a little bit more? Fill it out with something. Whatever feels appropriate to you.’” And thus, the actors started filling the scene with unscripted elements and dialogues. “So we did an eight or nine-minute improvisation, Hugh and myself.” Stewart shared.
Hugh Jackman’s Unscripted Scene Was Deeply Heartwarming
The particular scene from Logan was extremely heartwarming for the audiences and in fact, the shooting was quite epic for the actors. Watching the trio have a normal life with a stranger’s family, before hitting the road again, fans were overwhelmed by the movie. Hailing the 2017 film as one of the best X-Men movies of all time, audiences offered overall positive reviews.
But certainly, while the unscripted scene was way too emotional for the audience, Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart are known for their long history together in these movies, and representing few of the greatest cinematic moments. However, at the end of their journey with Logan, following James Mangold’s vision, the duo reflected naturally on their journey and offered a sense of closure to the characters.
“Only one line of that improvisation actually makes it into that scene. It was then that I realized that I really have a history.” Patrick Stewart reflected.
“Again it’s not in the movie, but I talked about Jean Grey and what she meant to me. I’d never talked about this before, and it was all coming out. We loved it, it was terrific” Patrick Stewart stated. He further added how the actors playing the family were shocked by the improvisation. “The [actors playing the] family were saying: ‘Where did all that stuff come from?’” Stewart shared. However, in the end, the movie performed well at the box office and earned a staggering $619M globally.
Watch Logan on Disney+.
Source: The Independent
